China marked its first national day for road safety on Dec. 2, 2012 with exhibitions, lectures and online discussions exhorting pedestrians and drivers to observe traffic signals, with failure to adhere to them blamed as a major cause of deaths on the country's roads.

Dec. 3-4, 2012

A seminar on justice and human rights was held in Haikou, Hainan province. Nearly 40 scholars and officials from United States and China attended the meeting.

Dec. 4, 2012

Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, pledged on Dec. 4, 2012 to promote the authority of the Constitution and the rule of law.

Xi said all citizens are equal before the law, human rights should be respected and safeguarded, and people's extensive rights and freedom should be guaranteed.

He made the comments at a congress marking the 30th anniversary of the implementation of China's 1982 Constitution at the Great Hall of the People in downtown Beijing.

Dec. 12-13, 2012

The Fifth Beijing Forum on Human Rights opened on Dec. 12, 2012 with experts and officials calling for efforts through science and technology and better environmental protection.

Themed Science and Technology, Environment and Human Rights, year 2012's forum had three sub-themes, namely "scientific and technological development and human rights", "era of information and human rights", and "environment and human rights".

Dec. 13, 2013

Hundreds of mourners lit candles at a vigil held in the eastern Chinese city of Nanjing on Dec. 12, 2013 night for the people killed after the city fell to Japanese invaders in World War II.

Dec. 13 marks the 75th anniversary of the Nanjing Massacre. On Dec. 13, 1937, Japanese invaders seized the city and started a month-long atrocity that left more than 300,000 local civilians and demobilized servicemen dead.